Team USA is always a serious competitor at the World Junior Championship, and this year will be no different. This year’s team has several returning players from last year’s Gold Medal winning lineup, as well as a few exceptionally talented newcomers who are poised to give USA Hockey a run for back-to-back golds.
Alongside teams like Canada and Sweden, Team USA is always chock full of drafted NHL prospects, who will be the future of their NHL teams in just a few short years. Guys like Ryan Leonard (Washington Capitals) and Gabe Perreault (New York Rangers) are expected to be serious factors for their respective teams as soon as next season if all goes well.
Let’s take a look at a few names to know and players to keep your eyes on as the tournament begins next Thursday, December 26, 2024.
Gabe Perreault, LW, New York Rangers
Gabe Perreault is a high-end playmaker who has scored a ton of points at every level he has competed at so far. He is the all-time record holder for most points in a season among all NTDP players, scoring 132 points in the 2022-23 season. Perreault has since been one of the top scorers in the NCAA, with a combined total of 83 points in one and a half seasons with Boston College (52 games played).
Related: THW’s 2025 World Junior Championship Guide
Perreault is going to be counted on as one of USA’s top offensive weapons, and given that he scored 10 points in 7 tournament games last year, it’s safe to expect him to find the scoresheet in just about every game he plays this time around. He will earn lots of ice time, especially on the powerplay, and should be in the running to lead the whole tournament in scoring.
Ryan Leonard, RW, Washington Capitals
Ryan Leonard is a hard working winger with a ton of skill and a bit more of a goalscoring style than Perreault. Leonard being chosen to lead Team USA as their captain this year was no surprise, as his effort is never in question and he is known as a leader on and off the ice.
Team USA’s new Captain America for this year’s WJC is Ryan Leonard 🇺🇸
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) December 20, 2024
Throwback to when he was a DAWG at last year’s WJC, icing out the game for Team USA then blowing a kiss to the Swedish fans in Sweden 😳 pic.twitter.com/TdS5j4x66T
Leonard isn’t far behind Perreault points-wise, as both have been wingers on the same line for several years now. With Will Smith making the jump up to the NHL this season, Boston College has leaned more heavily on Leonard, both as a leader in the room (he’s got an ‘A’ on his jersey despite being just 19), and offensively.
Zeev Buium, LD, Minnesota Wild
Zeev Buium had an excellent draft year in the 2023-24 season, and his performance as a draft eligible player in last year’s World Junior Championship was a bit of a turning point when it came to him getting the credit he deserved. Buium was phenomenal for Team USA last year, scoring 5 points in 7 games and being an important offensive catalyst on the backend behind Lane Hutson and Seamus Casey.
With both Hutson and Casey aging out of this tournament this time around, Buium will be counted on as the lead offensive creator in the team’s D-corps. I expect he’ll be excellent, leading the team’s top power play and playing what I like to call “Quinn Hughes Defence”, as a player who isn’t all that physical but who shuts plays down through timing and smarts. Keep an eye on Buium as someone who will certainly be in the running as the tournament’s top defender.
Trey Augustine, G, Detroit Red Wings
Trey Augustine is set to play in his third World Junior Championship this year, winning bronze and gold in the 2023 and 2024 tourney’s respectively. After competing for the starter’s net in each of his previous tournaments, it is clear that the net is Augustine’s this year. After winning the Big-10 Championship last year (and being named tournament MVP), Augustine joined Team USA at the Men’s World Championship where he played in parts of 4 games, earning a .929 save percentage.
Augustine is on the smaller side for modern NHL goalies, but he has such a pristine technical foundation and has a level of focus that makes him unflappable. Augustine had a good case for being named the tournament’s top goalie last year, but ultimately missed out. I think he is the absolute front-runner to win that honor this time around, especially if Team USA makes it to the medal round.
James Hagens, C, Boston College (2025 Draft)
James Hagens is the biggest undrafted talent on Team USA this year, and is all set to be their first line center with Will Smith still in the NHL. Hagens is a highly skilled center with elusive skating and excellent hockey sense. While he doesn’t have the size (he’s 5-foot-10) or physicality that NHL team’s would ideally like, Hagens’ offensive potential is significant enough that he’s very much in the mix for first overall with players like Porter Martone and Matthew Schaefer.
Related: 2025 NHL Draft Rankings – Horn’s Top 64 for December
Hagens holds the single tournament record for points at both the U17 and U18 World Championships, so it’s safe to expect him to score a bunch. He scored 22 points in just 7 games last Summer at the U18s, and the next highest scoring player, Gavin McKenna (who just turned 17), is going to be playing a big role on offense for Team Canada so that could be a fun battle to watch.
Cole Eiserman, LW, New York Islanders
Cole Eiserman was a polarizing prospect throughout the 2024 Draft process, as an elite goal scoring talent who had questions around his compete and consistency. There was never any doubt that he was an excellent goal scorer, as he scored at a goal-per-game rate throughout his draft year. Eiserman has continued to play his game in the NCAA, with 9 goals in 16 games so far this year, tied for 16th in NCAA scoring as a freshman.
Eiserman is going to be a threat to score in each and every game Team USA plays, and is still eligible to play in this tournament next year, where he should be a favorite to lead the tournament in goals outright.
Team USA’s Outlook
While this year’s lineup may not have the elite depth that Canada is bringing through their forward and defense groups, Team USA has the projected top goaltender and several tournament-MVP-level players which could prove to be more than enough.
The United States are in Group A at this year’s tournament, with Canada, Germany, Latvia, and Finland. While Finland’s lineup appears to be lacking a bit in terms of high-end talent, they are never an easy out in this tournament. Germany and Latvia should be relatively easy for Team USA to handle, and their group stage game against Canada will likely decide seeding for Group A going into the elimination round.
A few timely saves from Augustine, or a couple of dominant shifts from Perreault, Hagens, and Leonard, could both be enough to take down the Canadians. Team USA has as good a chance as anyone of winning their first ever back-to-back gold medals at this tournament, becoming the first non-Canadian team to win back-to-back golds since Russia did it in 2002 and 2003.